The Second Sunday after the Nativity (ABC) – January 3rd, 2021
ENTRANCE RITE
Entrance Antiphon (Introit)
When a profound silence covered all things
and night was in the middle of its course,
your all-powerful Word, O Lord, bounded from heaven’s royal throne. Wis 18:14-15
Entrance Song
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
My brother and sisters, to prepare ourselves to celebrate the mysterier, let us call to mind our sins.
I confess to almighty God and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have greatly sinned in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done and in what I have failed to do, through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault; therefore I ask blessed Mary ever-Virgin, all the Angels and Saints, and you, my brothers and sisters, to pray for me to the Lord our God.
May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.
Lord, have mercy,
Lord, have mercy,
Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy,
Lord, have mercy,
Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to people of good will.
We praise you, we bless you,
we adore you, we glorify you,
we give you thanks for your great glory.
Lord God, heavenly King, O God, almighty Father.
Lord Jesus Christ, Only Begotten Son,
Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father,
you take away the sins of the world,
have mercy on us;
you take away the sins of the world,
receive our prayer;
you are seated at the right hand of the Father,
have mercy on us.
For you alone are the Holy One,
you alone are the Lord,
you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit,
in the glory of God the Father.
Amen.
OPENING PRAYER
Almighty everliving God
splendor of faithful souls,
graciously be pleased to fill the world with your glory,
and show yourself to all peoples by the radiance of your light.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
LITURGY OF THE WORD
FIRST READING
A reading from the Book of Ecclesiasticus
The wisdom of God lives in his people. ( 24:1-2, 8-12 )
Wisdom speaks her own praises, in the midst of her people she glories in herself. She opens her mouth in the assembly of the Most High, she glories in herself in the presence of the Mighty One; ‘Then the creator of all things instructed me, and he who created me fixed a place for my tent. He said, “Pitch your tent in Jacob, make Israel your inheritance.” From eternity, in the beginning, he created me, and for eternity I shall remain. I ministered before him in the holy tabernacle, and thus was I established on Zion. In the beloved city he has given me rest, and in Jerusalem I wield my authority. I have taken root in a privileged people, in the Lord’s property, in his inheritance.’
This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM
( Ps 147 )
Response: The Word was made flesh, and lived among us.
1. O praise the Lord, Jerusalem!
Zion, praise your God!
He has strengthened the bars of your gates,
he has blessed the children within you. Response
2. He established peace on your borders,
he feeds you with finest wheat.
He sends out his word to the earth
and swiftly runs his command. Response
3. He makes his word known to Jacob,
to Israel his laws and decrees.
He has not dealt thus with other nations;
he has not taught them his decrees. Response
SECOND READING
A reading from the letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians
God destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ. ( 1:3-6, 15-18 )
Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all the spiritual blessings of heaven in Christ. Before the world was made, he chose us, chose us in Christ, to be holy and spotless, and to live through love in his presence, determining that we should become his adopted sons, through Jesus Christ for his own kind purposes, to make us praise the glory of his grace, his free gift to us in the Beloved. That will explain why I, having once heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus, and the love that you show towards all the saints, have never failed to remember you in my prayers and to thank God for you. May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give you a spirit of wisdom and perception of what is revealed, to bring you to full knowledge of him. May he enlighten the eyes of your mind so that you can see what hope his call holds for you, what rich glories he has promised the saints will inherit.
This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
Alleluia, alleluia.
Glory to you, O Christ, proclaimed to the Gentiles; Glory to you, O Christ, believed in throughout the world!
Alleluia.
GOSPEL
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. ( 1:1-18 )
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
A reading from the Holy Gospel according to John
Glory to you, Lord.
In the beginning was the Word:
and the Word was with God
and the Word was God.
He was with God in the beginning.
Through him all things came to be,
not one thing had its being but through him.
All that came to be had life in him
and that life was the light of men,
a light that shines in the dark,
a light that darkness could not overpower.
A man came, sent by God.
His name was John.
He came as a witness,
as a witness to speak for the light,
so that everyone might believe through him.
He was not the light,
only a witness to speak for the light.
The Word was the true light
that enlightens all men;
and he was coming into the world.
He was in the world
that had its being through him,
and the world did not know him.
He came to his own domain
and his own people did not accept him.
But to all who did accept him
he gave power to become children of God,
to all who believe in the name of him
who was born not out of human stock
or urge of the flesh
or will of man
but of God himself.
The Word was made flesh, he lived among us,
and we saw his glory,
the glory that is his
as the only Son of the Father,
full of grace and truth.
John appears as his witness. He proclaims:
‘This is the one of whom I said:
He who comes after me ranks before me
because he existed before me’.
Indeed, from his fullness we have, all of us, received –
yes, grace in return for grace,
since, though the Law was given through Moses,
grace and truth have come through Jesus Christ.
No one has ever seen God;
it is the only Son, who is nearest to the Father’s heart,
who has made him known.
This is the Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
PROFESSION OF FAITH
I believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.
I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the Only Begotten Son of God,
born of the Father before all ages.
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation
he came down from heaven,
(at the words that follow up to and including and became man, all bow)
and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary,
and became man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate,
he suffered death and was buried,
and rose again on the third day
in accordance with the Scriptures.
He ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead
and his kingdom will have no end.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son
is adored and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.
I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.
I confess one Baptism
for the forgiveness of sins
and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead
and the life of the world to come.
Amen.
PRAYERS OF THE FAITHFUL
Our response is: Lord, hear our prayer.
For the Church – that it will be just in all its dealings, treat men and women with equal dignity, families with respect, and ensure that its liturgical language creates a vision of justice. Lord, hear our prayer.
For families in refugee camps – that world leaders will work together to settle refugees in permanent homes and that refugees will be made welcome in their new countries. Lord, hear our prayer.
For families – that families everywhere will spend rich time together in recreation, in prayer, in listening to each other and being attentive to each other’s needs and the needs of their local community. Lord, hear our prayer.
For parents – that they nourish their children with a sense of joy and delight in life, an optimism for the future, a willingness to serve others, and a thirst to grow in love of God. Lord, hear our prayer.
For children who live in poverty – that we all creatively address the causes of poverty, and find new and effective solutions to lift children from poverty, so that they can engage fully and positively with life. Lord, hear our prayer.
For the elderly – that they will be positive with young people, encouraging them in meeting the challenges of life, and that they, they elderly will be treated with dignity, respect and care. Lord, hear our prayer.
THE LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST
Offertory Song
PRAYER OVER THE GIFTS
Sanctify, O Lord, the offerings we make
on the Nativity of your Only Begotten Son,
for by it you show us the way of truth
and promise the life of the heavenly Kingdom.
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
PREFACE and EUCHARISTIC PRAYER
Preface III of the Nativity of the Lord
It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation,
always and everywhere to give you thanks,
Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God,
through Christ our Lord.
For through him the holy exchange that restores our life
has shone forth today in splendor:
when our frailty is assumed by your Word
not only does human mortality receive unending honor
but by this wondrous union we, too, are made eternal.
And so, in company with the choirs of Angels,
we praise you, and with joy we proclaim:
Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts…
COMMUNION RITE
Communion Antiphon
To all who would accept him, he gave the power to become children of God. Jn 1:12
PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
Lord our God, we humbly ask you,
that, through the working of this mystery,
our offenses may be cleansed
and our just de-sires fulfilled.
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.